Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-04-28

therefore so perilous. Its deyotees d
not indulge their unfortunate desir
so mrch from the bare idea of gain a
from this rapturons mental intoxiea
ton which it induces. It's the opium
OF the intellect. the glorious cham
payne that inebriates the pure mind
until it staggers and falls beneath
worlds weight OF golden dreams.
For some two hours before the ulti
mate catastrophe in the game, the colo
eye of the stranger had observed, with
out seeming to notice the fact, that
whenever Il came to Squire Jack
turn-tU deal, he uniformly cheated
by a trick that no ordinary PLAYER
could detect. As consequence, when.
ever the hairy face gave out the cards
Major Ryan was the loser, until his
pocket had been lightened by some
six thousand dollars.
As usually happens in such cases,
he was increasingly making desperate
efforts to retrieve his fortune; and
these, for the same reason, only tend
ed to involve him the more. AS the
stranger had discovered the squires
trick, without saying anything, he ST.
iently invented counter maneuvre to
defeat it, and soon played his hands
successfully as to divide and even
halve the immense mountain of win
nings that had accumulated at the ell
bow of his adversary. Vexed and ir-
rltated by the sudden change in his
luck, the squire ventured another and
different act of legerdemsin, and at
tempted to shuttle or stock" the cards,
as the technical expression is, so as to
give all parties very powerful suites,
intending. as a matter of course, to re-
serve the strongest for himself. But
while he was carefully preparing the
arrangement, the strangers small eyes
Of ice all at once turned into flashing
orbs of fearful fire, his lips wreathed
with smile of strange meaning. and
he said, in low, yet awfully distinct
and sneering tone, Squire Jack, don't
be rascal If you go to cheating,
I'll cut both your ears otf?"
do YOU know to whom you are ad-
dressing such language ?" exclaimed
the other, in a loud and menacing
tone.
81 don't wish to know you any bet
ter than l do at present, lest l find
you out to be still greater thief than
| even now think you, and in all con-
science that is bad enough" was the
answer.
Il am Jack Jones, of Mississippi"
rejoined the hairy face, with thunder
ing emphasis. as if he expected to
bring the enemy to his knees by the
bare announcement Of his name, well
known as being that of celebrated
duelist; land | have shot down half
a-dozen men at the first fire without
allowing them a chance to touch
trigger" :"
And as he said this, he pulled out
his pistol, cooked it, and laid it in his
lap under the table, while his partner,
Captain Smith, did the same.
And /" exclaimed the stranger,
smiling still more ferociously, IAN
named Bowie, and ! have scalped half
hundred Indians, and cut up a score
of white scoundrels with my famous
knife, and purpose now to serve two
more in the same way" and with the
last word he blew out the light, and
bounded over the table. Two pistols
went off simultaneously in the dark
ness. Their roar was succeeded by
the sound of several blows, and of
persons falling heavily on the floor,
besides a few faint stifed groans CT
mortal agony; and when they rushed
in from an adjourning room with fresh
lamps. a horrible vision revealed it.
self. There lay the gamblers, Jones
and Smith, in large pools of their own
blood, CHASTITY corpses, while over
them, unharmed by lead or steel,
stood their triumphant foe holding
aloft the all dreaded knife, dripping
with gore from hilt to point.
How are you, Bowie? You seem
to be victorious, as usual" cried sew
eral persons. who recognized him
and all that ever knew him were his
friends. He then detailed the circum-
stances and cause of his recent COM
bat, and his behavior in the transac-
tion met with the cordial approval Of
great majority in the crowd.
Finally, as the day was just begin
ming to dawn, Bowie said f.: Come Ma
lor Ryan, to the victCrs belong the
spoils: let us take our hard-won tro-
phies to your house, and lay them at